HMRC

Her or His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs HMRC is the government department responsible for assessing and collecting taxes.

Beer Duty is chargeable on the following types of beer if their strength is more than 1.2% alcohol by volume (ABV):

ale

porter

stout

any other description of beer

anything else made or sold described as beer or a beer substitute, including beer mixed with non-alcoholic drinks – for example shandy

Beer is liable for Beer Duty as soon as it is ‘produced’.This is when the earliest of the events below takes place. When the beer is:

packaged

removed from the brewery

consumed

lost

fit for consumption

For duty purposes alcoholic strength is the percentage of alcohol by volume (ABV) in the beer. This should be expressed to one decimal place, for example, 4.19% ABV becomes 4.1% ABV. Ignore figures after the first decimal place.

An independent analyst must test the ABV of each of your products, at least annually, to confirm consistency with calculated results. The results of the independent analyses must be held in your business records.

Make an enquiry about HMRC

If you might be interested in the above analysis service, please leave your details below and a member of our analysis team will be in touch to discuss your specific requirements or answer any questions you might have: